The Beastslayer's Guide To Self-Defense

I will be starting a thread here on how to protect yourself against non-human adversaries. There are many sources for self-defense against another person, but what if your attacker is not human? Over the following days I shall be slowly adding instructions for protection against all manner of beast, monster, spirit or daemon. I shall start with some easy ones, that most of us will know already, but may be lacking in little bits of information. Over the next few days or weeks we will cover Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Hydras, Trolls, Malevolent Spirits/ Ghosts, Faeries (not the cute ones), Giants, and many more!

Chapter I: ZOMBIES



Zombies are often underestimated as a slow, brainless cerature with only little agility. These creatures (true as that may be) deserve a lot more respect and caution!
The Zombies' (or Zombis') power comes mostly from their numbers, their lack of pain or fear, their strength and their contamination. If you find yourself up against any more than two zombies on your own, your best advice is to run!!! But if this isn't possible, or if you have someone to help, you can attempt to fight back (but again, if there are too many of them, RUN!)

The best way to fight zombies would be to position yourself against a wall or something solid, so that nothing can creep up behind you or surround you! As most people will know, the only way to kill a regular zombie is to destroy the brain. This can be done in a number of ways, eg. blunt objects, sharp objects (stabbing or slicing), fire, etc. Cutting off the head is effective in stopping the body but the head will still survive and can still bite! There is no slowing the creature down with injury, as it feels no pain, and cannot be so easily slowed. If you find there are too many of them, and few places to run, try making a barrier of fire between you and the zombies (dry rotting flesh goes up quite quickly) or even an electrical barrier (eg. a moat of water with a strong electric current fed into it). Caution is advised when using fire or electricity, as fire has a tendency to spread uncontrollably, and electricity can jump (up to 20 metres).
There are different types of zombie though, that have to be dealt with differently. For instance, the regular zombies are usually pulled from their graves by Voodoo magic, as practiced in the Caribbean islands (particularly Haiti), but other zombies have been summoned by such things as freak radiation/ toxic spills or by other magick practitioners (sorcerers or necromancers). Certain zombies raised by sorcerers and necromancers have a destructive reaction to Holy Water, and like vampires it will burn the zombies and can actually appear to cause pain. Whereas decapitation can disable a regular zombie, others summoned by sorcery can continue their motion without the head connected. This is usually because a spirit or daemon has possessed the corpse and will still be in control despite the fatal injury sustained. these zombies will take more effort to kill (possibly with the use of rituals and incantations) and are a lot quicker, deadlier and resistant to damage.
As brutal as it may sound, if any of your company (friends, family, yourself or others) are bitten by a Zombie (even if it's just a scratch), the only course of action that can save yourself and the soul of your bitten comrade(s) is to kill them immediately. There is no honour or glory in being left to turn into one of them.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
* Run!
* If not; avoid being surrounded,
* Don't take on too many at once,
* Destroy the brains,
* If too many, try creating a moat/ barrier,
* If anyone is infected you must kill them.

USEFUL THINGS TO RESEARCH:
* Any books on Voodoo magic.
* The Binding Of The Evil Sorcerers spell from the Necronomicon.
* Daemon/ Malevolent Spirit banishment rites/ rituals/ incantations.

Chapter II: a) WESTERN VAMPIRES



....Not many people will know that the Vampires we have known since childhood (the fangs, the cape, the romantic Romanian accent) are only one breed of Vampire, what can be called a "Western Vampire". We will discuss other types as we go, but for now this one requires concentration.
....Again, most of us will have seen enough Vampire movies to remember the key principals of Vampire-slaying. Popular movies and series (such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer for example) have drilled into most people's brains the main method of kwelling our fanged foes. But for revision purposes, I will go over the basics and maybe some things you didn't know.
.....Legend has given us a few ideas to repellunwanted Vampires before slaying is necessary. You see, as much as the idea seems simple to kill a Vampire (or 'Vampyr'/'Vampyre'/'Nosferatu'), the practice is far from it. Vampires have exeptional strength, and are pretty much invulnerable from regular damage, and are also quick, cunning and incredibly deadly. So really the best way to deal with a Vampire is to hope you never meet one! So precautions were discovered to ensure the meeting never happens.
.....It is said that Vampires cannot enter a dwelling without an invitation from the living. So as long as you're very careful who you invite in (which you should be anyway) you can't be invaded. To secure your abode even more, you could try pouring salt by the doors, hanging up garlic, blessing the doorways (if you know any priests), hanging up crosses(*), U.V. lamps (ultraviolet is the ingredient of sunlight that can turn a Vampire to dust in seconds), or a REALLY sneaky and occasionally humourous idea is to fill a bucket of Holy Water and put it above your doors. If a Vampire walks in... *splash*... no more Vampire, but if a human breaks in... hehehe!! Just a soggy practical joke! But if you aren't at home, break into a church (ONLY if there is a Vampyre after you)! Unholy creatures cannot enter the house of God.
.....But, Vampires are an alluring creature, hypnotic, suggestive and often seductive (despite them being undead...yeuck!... that's right, Buffy is a necrophiliac!). So what happens if you are lured from the safety or caught unawares outside? Then its down to your Vampire survival kit: find ANYTHING sharp and wooden or sharp and silver A.S.A.P.!! Anything else you may have on you to fight vampires (eg. garlic, salt, cross, holy water, U.V. torch) will be nothing more than to slow it down. You must find an opportunity, and either stab directly through the heart or decapitate.
NOTE: it is a common misconception the heart is on the left of your chest. The heart lies in the center behind the sternum, with its bigger half on the left. So you want to stab centrally-left and extremely hard (to punch through the bone).
.....Even if the Vampire has been kwelled, there are certain precautions still to be taken. Because every Vampire dies differently (some burn-up, some explode, some bleed rivers, others die like people, etc.), if you have a body remaining you must decapitate the corpse and burn both head and body, just in case you missed the heart and the creature is trying to trick you.
.....Remember, just like Zombies, if you are bitten you will be infected, and will turn into one of them. But unlike Zombies, there is hope (small as it may be) if you were to slay the vampire responsible for the contamination. The infection will dissipate (most of the time), but the only problem with this is that Vampires don't usually leave witnesses to identify them as the source. If you have no way to find out, you must kill the infected person.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
* don't invite strangers into your home.
* keep around the house: crosses, garlic, salt, silver, U.V. lights, holy water.
* if you find yourself caught away from safety, arm yourself with a sharp wooden/silver implement.
* stab directly through the heart and/or decapitate. Burn the corpse.
* no weapons, flee immediately to a church or consecrated ground. Stay well away from from windows and doors.
* if you or others are contaminated, you must seek the Vampire responsible for the contamination and kill it.

USEFUL THINGS TO RESEARCH:
* Vampire literature: Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, etc.
* Vampire movies: Dracula, John Carpenter's Vampires, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Blade, Underworld, Dusk Til Dawn, Nosferatu, etc.

(*) = Vampires are cursed creatures, and self-sworn enemies of God. Legend has it (or Bram Stoker anyway) that Vlad the Impaler, the man who would become the Dracula myth, cursed God in church after his beloved wife committed suicide (a mortal sin) while he was at battle. So great was his grief, he stabbed an altar with his sword, which mysteriously began to bleed, and gathering it in a cup drank the blood of God, cursing him. Therefore items of holiness (eg. crosses, holy water, churches) are useful things to have around, though some would argue they cause no physical harm but will still cause great emotional harm to them. Also items such as salt and silver represent 'purity' and can be used to cause damage.

CHAPTER II: b) JIANG SHI ("CHINESE VAMPIRE")



.....The Chinese Vampire is a LOT different to its Western cousin - in appearance, behaviour, and methods of slaying. A Jiang Shi basically looks like a stiff corpse, usually wrapped in burial rags with no or little facial identity, and is more similar to a zombie than a vampire. Their movements are awkward as their only method of moving around is to jump up and down (like hopping)! This gives them a deceivingly comical appearance, but completely unjustified as a victim will find if he is approached by one. Without fangs, the Jiang Shi will "suck" the blood and lifeforce out of its victim from an arm's-length distance until they are dead. And now would be the time to mention a Jiang Shi is virtually indestructible, but unlike their Western counterparts, a Jiang Shi can be controlled with the right spell or talisman written on a piece of yellow paper and stuck to the creature's forehead. This renders them asleep until the paper is removed.
....Alternatively, Jiang Shis can be tricked by throwing grain, rice, seeds or any other scatterable small thing at its feet. Like some rarer Western vampires, the creature will be forced to stop and count the grains. Chicken eggs and the blood ofa black dog have also been recognised as Jiang Shi deterrents, and there is even a instruction in Feng Shui to prevent Jiang Shis entering your home.
....Sticky rice is what is said to be able to stop the Jiang Shi completely, as it can draw out the evil spirit from the hopping corpse, but any other rice mixed with it will diminish it's effectiveness. I cannot comment what to do with the spirit or sticky rice once it has been drawn out, but I can imagine other rites can be used to destroy it.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
* follow the Feng Shui instructions for building a 'threshold' beneath your door.
* keep chicken eggs handy (or a black dog's blood... ???... can you buy that in Asda?).
* if encountered; throw rice, grain, seeds or other scatterable objects to stall it.
* to send it to sleep; attach a spell/ chinese talisman to its forehead on a piece of yellow paper.
* to withdraw evil spirit; throw a ball of sticky rice at or near it.

USEFUL THINGS TO RESEARCH:
* Any books on Feng Shui.
* Movies: Encounters Of The Spooky Kind, Mr. Vampire, The Vampire Hunters, A Chinese Ghost Story film series.
* The Vampire: a Case-Study by Alan Dundes.

In the case of zombies, while yes they usually would be slow and shamble, in the case of freshly turned people, they should in theory be able to run very fast. This will be because they will still maintain the normal muscle which hasn't rotted yet and they will not feel the pain nor need the oxygen to maintain their running, hence they will run fast and far.

Although this fast running would probably break certain muscles and could be what reduces them to shambling.

Neat idea, and a good read.

Looking forward to more

Richard

VII wrote:

* if you find yourself caught away from safety, arm yourself with a sharp wooden/silver implement.
* stab directly through the heart and/or decapitate. Burn the corpse.

sorry but I just have to say in regards to this....
Vampyres can quite easily survive a stake to the heart as their cardiovascular system uses their bones to travel round their bodies bypassing the heart. However a blow to the head would stun them enough to chop their heads off...
Sorry I'm a Vampyre freak...

Surely rigor mortis would be an influence on the movement of fresh zombies. True it would not effect them immediately, but soon after death when it takes it's effect, they would be likely to cause muscular damage while trying to chase their victims.

Cheers for another installment, interesting about the Chinese vampires.

There is a sort of Vampire you have failed to mention. The energy vampire, these tend to use the slow but sure method of becoming friendly, and sucking out your life force slowly so as to remain undetected. They are hard to detect, by nature, they must seem 'normal' so as to remain in close proximity to the victim for extended periods of time. Basicaly a parasitic life.

There are a subset that feed quickly, usualy on strong emotions, or sexual energy. These should be easier to detect, as they have to cause these strong emotions, or create situations that bring them about.

Have you any hints or tips for dealing with these?

Richard

Very good points, Dorian, Era and Solvo!All very true factors to be considered. Cheers Oobe, good point about the energy vampires! Alas, I am not too knowledgable on them, but I was going to ask Logmadr to mention a bit more about it, as there's an old thread he wrote mentioning them. Any advice, Tomi?

Chapter III: WEREWOLVES



......Werewolves (or Lycanthropes), although essentially human the majority of the time, are viscious hunter-killers when the moon is at its fullest (and sometimes just when they feel like it!). If you find yourself targeted as food by one of these great beasts, then there are a few things you ought to remember.
......Similarly to the previous two chapters, Werewolves are practically invincible. With less weaknesses than a Vampire (for instance) it is an unstoppable primal beast, with the animal-instinct of a formidable hunter and the cunning of a human-being. If you find yourself against one you'd be very hard-pressed just to stay alive!
.....But, again like the others, Werewolves have been popularised and advertised by the media, and most people will know the ONLY way to harm a Werewolf is with silver (or kill them when they're in human form - not recommended!). Unfortunately, silver is not the easiest thing to come across when you need it in a hurry, but you can introduce it to your everyday inventory by wearing silver jewellery. Like the ninjas of the past, your jewellery doesn't have to just be a pretty thing. Why not have a necklace, or earrings possibly, shaped in a way that can be used as a weapon (eg. to cut or to stab)? Or maybe a set of silver rings on your hand, with convenient jagged edges or points? You have there two types of weapon you could legally carry around to protect you. Although if you aren't that fussed about the law, you can just carry around a silver knife (but remember if you get busted by the filth you will be in a lot of trouble)(*) or if you're rich enough (and stupid enough), you could buy some silver-tipped bullets and a gun! But unfortunately, silver-tipped bullets don't come in the shops and guns are dangerous (so I shall avoid this suggestion for the sake of practicality and realism).
.....So with that said, if you find yourself up against a Werewolf, your speed and agility will be what saves your neck. If you have the necessary items, make frequent and fast strikes against the creature as it draws close. If you have something sharp but maybe too small to make deep wounds, aim for its carotid artery (just below the jaw, on the right of the throat). The incision will leave the creature bleeding to death very quickly indeed. The Werewolf can heal any wound in a matter of seconds or minutes, but a wound made by silver will stay, be very painful and become poisoned. If you are wearing some beefy silver rings (like a knuckleduster), use these to punch rapidly at the creature's face, causing irrepairable damage to the teeth, the nose, the eyes, etc. You'd have to be Hercules bastard-child to actually kill a Werewolf in this manner, but how would the Werewolf continue to hunt with its face damaged so much? Mind you, when the creature returns to normal and the wounds become human again, he will be able to seek medical assistance and may very well be healed come the next time.
.....Once again, another similarity that links to the previous chapters is the infection. A bite from a werewolf will transform a human into one of them on the next full moon. Most, if not all, Werewolves were probably once fortunate survivors of a werewolf attack. This "infection" could have a natural explanation; because wolves are pack-animals, Werewolves coud use this method to build themselves a hunting pack. If you find yourself bitten by a Werewolf, you will turn on the next full moon, but there is hope for you! Unlike Vampires or Zombies, a Werewolf isn't dead so there is automatically less of a fear about the process of "turning". The majority of time, a Werewolf (being human mainly) might not know what he/she gets up to on the full moon. They might suspect - especially waking up in strange places with blood or flesh in and around your mouth, but might be naturally too skeptical to consider the impossible (they might think they're going mad before they consider a Werewolf). Even so, being a Werewolf is not something you ever want to be if you have cherished or loved ones. While there is little threat to you (or your soul), your friends and family will be at the greatest of risk, because you will not be able control your animal-instinct once it has taken over.
.....But someone could help you; the only cure for a Werewolf I have heard of is to strike the creature between the eyes (on the forehead) with an iron bar. This is said to "split" the beast in two, revealing the human-form safely inside and free from his/her curse. This method is a lot better than cutting up or shooting your friends just because they were a Werewolf.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
* always carry around something silver (eg, jewellery, cutlery, etc.)
* be as fast and agile as you possibly can (under the circumstances)
* with your "weapons", make quick and repeatative strikes to the face, the carotid artery or any other vital part.
* use an iron bar to strike between the eyes, and cure the Werewolf.

USEFUL THINGS TO RESEARCH
* Werewolves in the media: American Werewolf In London/ Paris, The Wolfman, Teen Wolf, Underworld, Dog Soldiers, The Howling film series, Wolf, Romasanta(**).

(*) = as silver combat knives as extremely rare and expensive, your mum's best cutlery would suffice!... (What the hell am I doing??!! Am I encouraging people to steal things and carry knives?)
Disclaimer: NO!!! DON'T DO IT!!

(**) = biopic case-study (true story) about Manuel Blanco Romasanta, a psychopath in the early 1800's who, aided by an accomplice, murdered over 9 people with his bare hands and teeth, claiming themselves to have been Werewolves.

I'm not surprised by the encouragement to carry weaponry- I seem to remember someone wouldn't let be walk home alone unless I carried a knife! (though to be fair though, you were a bit on the tipsy side)
Cheers for the werewolf tips, the iron bar thing isn't that commonly known (though obviously I knew that .......maybe cos you told me!) Iron would be easier to come by and cheaper. It also gives a better result in my opinion (saving the person rather than killing them) I think I'd opt for that method personally though does it work at any point of the infection? Also I heard killing the werewolf that turned the person could also save them. Keep 'em coming!

I encourage nothing, I even put a disclaimer at the bottom!! I'd go for the iron bar technique myself too, but as it only works on the Werewolf form, the infection will obviously already have taken hold.

Eh, I heard wolfsbane can cure you if its taken before the next full moon, maybe that was a lie!?

Logmadr wrote:

All of the above information is from my personal past experiences....so if anyone wants to add anything, feel free!!!

Logmadr

Well here is the rest of what I know....


How to tell

It's not as easy as with the others above. Since Energy Vampires are fully human, with maybe parasitic energy, or other being inside. There isn't any outward sign that is obvious, such as turning into a wolf at full moon. Though they may be more active, or energetic around the full moon, as emotions can be high at such times. They may do crazy things, and encorage, or seek out others who do anything emotionaly charged.

Signs to watch out for include...

Friends, or lovers who like to fight, and then make up. The emotionaly charged atmoshere this creates is what they are looking for.

Feeling unussualy cold, or mentaly drained without apparent reason. Particularly if this happens often in the presence of one particular person.

Members of the opposite sex (or maybe the same sex, I suppose) who throw themselves at you without apparent reason, particularly if they offer some wild sort of sex. Sexual energy is possibly the most potent thing they can feed on, so is likely going to happen less often.

Also look out for these in angry mobs, they may well take the lead, in pushing things to extremes. The more angry the mob, the more energy to be harvested. In this case they may even work as a group, as no single one will be able to use all the energy. The group is unlikely to be organised, more like vultures, than dogs or wolves. Any gathering with strong emotional content will attract them, so look out for people who attend protests and the like, but without feeling strongly about the subject.

As above, defending yourself is a matter of protection, and possibly removeing your self from the area. A mental, or magical shield will also be effective, and can also be used as a detector. Detection by setting up a light 'bubble' around yourself, that will alert you to trouble and can be maintained for hours without much effort. On having this shield struck, you can raise a strong block for long enough to get out of the area.

Also as mentioned above, if you become a hard target to feed from, then they will move on. This is possibly the best you can hope for, as killing isn't the answer here. It may be possible to remove, or destroy the parasitic part, but how to do this is unknown.

That's about it for me, anyone else who can add anything, please feel free.

Richard

The first time I came across an engerial or empathic vampire (AKA pranic vampire, empathic vampire, energy predator, psy/psi-vamp, energy parasite, psionic vampire) was in a Stephen King book from the Dark Tower series.

The energy vampire wasn't human but appeared as a frail old man. In it two of the characters come across him and he starts making them laugh, they start laughing so hysterically they can't breathe properly and start choking and all the while the man seems to be getting younger and younger healthier and healthier until they realise he is sucking the life force out of them. After they defeat him, by another friend of theirs shooting him in the head they discover he had been keeping a very odd and exceptionally talented boy in a cage and feeding off him repeatedly nearly all his life.

Stephen King has written of many psychic vampires the most famous one being Tak, Tak is different to Dandelo (above) as he cannot be killed, he merely recedes and appears in numerous different forms, he is some sort of ancient God and can twist the world around him. Tak is similar to Pennywise the Clown from IT as he two can appear in different guises and appears to have God like background however Pennywise is definately Alien yet this is not quite known of of Tak, but they are both ancient. Pennywise appears to be killed in It however it is not definate whether it will be able to appear again in other forms. These types of vampires can influence the behaviour of others and make them run after and try and kill/rape the heros/heroins for example in IT when the young (pre 10) is chased down the street by her father who is attempting to murder/rape her (YAY for happy story time!)

Randall Flag is another undefeatable and appears in numerous guises throughout King's books and his purpose is to cause pain suffering and chaos which he lives for, he tends to tempt people to doing what he wants them to do and can speak directly to their head but its more suggestion than complete control.

So do energy vampires all know they are, or is it possible for them to be one without knowing it?

Also, is there any emotion they seek out more then others, and if they do not get any emotional drain, do they die?

So apart from draining energy through emotion, what can a physic vampire do?

And how do they feed, like by touch, through the air? etc?

Annnnd, how do they make new ones, like a vampire bites and so does a werewolf.

Dorian wrote:

So apart from draining energy through emotion, what can a physic vampire do?

It is possible that they can also influence people to do things they normaly wouldn't, by doing the oposite, and sending emotion out. I'm not sure, about this and have no experience of it.

Dorian wrote:

Also, is there any emotion they seek out more then others, and if they do not get any emotional drain, do they die?

Anything seems to do, but love / sex and positive emotions seem to be what they seek out most. As for die, I don't think so, if you shut off the supply then they move on to someone else. If isolated from emotion for a long time, who knows? That's fairly hard to do in this crowded world we live in.

Dorian wrote:

And how do they feed, like by touch, through the air? etc?

I guess the closer the better, touch would be about as close as you can get. There may well be different types, with different methods, or they may choose different methods, I'm not sure.

Dorian wrote:

Annnnd, how do they make new ones, like a vampire bites and so does a werewolf.

Don't know. It may be a parasitic type thing, that could hop from host human, to host human. There aren't that may about, so there must be some sort of limit on numbers, or maybe it just takes a long time to spread. As noted above, then people who do this appear to be genuinely unaware, and that makes me think it is something external (ish).

Realy I don't have any answers, and don't want to get close enough (again) to find out.

Richard

Annd.. how about on the victims side then, since most of you seem to have experience, how does it make you feel, ill, tired, distressed?